COLORADO SPRINGS — In a game that was consistently back and forth, the Doherty boys basketball had just enough to edge Liberty on Thursday night.
Grasping onto a 38-35 lead at the end of the third quarter, the Spartans, ranked No. 9 in Class 5A, held off Liberty 57-54.
In such a close game, it was free throws that made an impact. Doherty made 9-of-15 shots from the line, while the Lancers made 15-of-18.
“I don’t think that both teams played well, just at times,” Doherty coach Eric Steinert said. “But when the game did get tough, we played our best and I’m proud of our guys for that.”
Doherty was led by senior Kyrele Benford, who scored a vital 18 points even though he was sick.
“He was throwing up all of half time and came out and played one of his best halves of basketball,” Steinert said. “Defensively he was locked in and he didn’t come out even when he was sick, and that is a special thing.”
Doherty was also helped by junior Alijah Bates, who supplied 12 points, and seniors Joe golden and Josh Walker, who both provided 10 points.
It was a five-point game or closer throughout the final quarter. Liberty surged back with a jump shot by senior Kyle Bohuslavsky, and Moz Doria drove in a layup in the final minutes of the game.
However, Doherty’s Bates scored the final bucket with a monumental dunk and eventual game-winning basket within the last seconds of the game.
The Lancers had a thrilling drive of eight points within the last few minutes thanks to shots made by Doria, Jacob Burns, and Bohuslavsky. Doria led Liberty with 28 points. Despite the impressive numbers put up by Liberty, missed rebounds and turnovers proved to be the difference-maker in a well-fought battle.
With Doherty beating Liberty for the second time in a month, the Spartans will need to keep this momentum as they play league games against Coronado and Pine Creek in the next week.
“Close games like these have value for playoffs because everyone gives you their best shot,” Steinert said. “And playing games like these that are tough against good teams can help us get better prepared for that.”
LITTLETON — Arapahoe wrestling beat Smoky Hill in a dual meet on Thursday, 65-11.
Carsen Trujillo (120), Riley Olana (138), Matthew Paulsen (152), Ryan Gilida (170), Charlie Fetterly (182), and Jason Washington (heavyweight) all recorded pins for the Warriors.
Diego Velasquez (195) and David Hoage (220) each had pins for Smoky Hill.
AURORA — The members of the 2017 CHSAA Hall of Fame were inducted during a ceremony on Wednesday night at the Radisson Hotel Denver Southeast.
Tricia Bader-Binford (Roaring Fork), Jenny Coalson (Ellicott) Joe Silva (Fruita Monument), Bobbi Brown-Vandenberg (Boulder), Don Kimble (Limon), Ken Shaw (Regis Jesuit), Kent Smith (Boulder/Highlands Ranch/Ponderosa), Brian Richmond (Fort Collins) and L. D. Elarton (Lamar) were all inducted on Wednesday.
The nine new members are the 29th in the history of the CHSAA Hall of Fame, which was started in 1989.
Bader-Binford spoke for the class at the conclusion of the ceremony, saying, “This is an honor that we share with our communities. It is clear that we achieved because people believed in us. People believed in us, they supported us, they provided us the chance to be great.”
“The opportunities CHSAA has provided has changed each of us for the better,” Bader-Binford added.
Tricia Bader Binford (Roaring Fork HS): A three-sport athlete – basketball, volleyball and track – Bader was a five-time state track champion, three-time all-state basketball player and led the Rams to the 1989, 1990 and 1991 state basketball titles. She was a three-time all-state player and the player of the year as a senior.
She won the 1991 Rocky Mountain News’ Steinmark Award and RHS has named its “Three-Sport Athlete Award” after her.
A former WNBA and Australian professional player, Bader is the head coach at Montana State where she was the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year in 2015-16.
As great as she was on the court, she was equally great off it, maintaining great character, and inspiring many young women in rural communities to become involved in sports.
A girls’ coach for 32 years in Colorado and Wisconsin, Brown was the architect of one of the strongest girls’ basketball programs in Colorado.
Her BHS teams were 182-28, winning the 1984, 1986, 1989 (undefeated), 1990 and 1991 state titles. Her 1985 and 1992 teams finished second. She also took a leave of absence in the middle of her Boulder tenure to finish her graduate studies.
A former CU basketball player, was also an assistant varsity football coach in 1990, coaching wide receivers and defensive backs. She coached at Fairview and Boulder from 1981 until 1992.
She was Coach of the Year by The Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News and Boulder Daily Camera five times.
She is currently the Viterbo University (La Crosse, WI) women’s basketball coach.
Jenny Coalson (Ellicott HS): Coalson was a three-sport athlete at Ellicott, leading her team to two state basketball championships and winning four state individual track titles, while placing 10 more times.
She won the triple jump as a freshman, the 200 meters and shot put as a junior, along with winning the long jump as a senior. The 2A Basketball Player of the Year twice in basketball, Coalson was all-state in basketball (twice) and volleyball (once).
She was selected to the CCGS and CHSCA All-State Teams in both sports as a senior. In addition, she is a Little Britches world champion rodeo performer.
She won the 1995 Rocky Mountain News’ Steinmark Award She went on to play and excel in basketball at Kansas State.
Eldon “L.D.” Elarton (Lamar Schools): One of the state’s most respected administrators, Elarton’s career as a student participant, teacher, coach and administrator was steeped in Lamar.
A native of the community, he played baseball, basketball and football, was student body president and an all-state participant for LHS. After college, he returned home to teach and coach, starting in 1968 and moved up the ranks, serving as teacher, assistant principal, principal, finance director and superintendent.
As a coach, Elarton earned Baseball Coach of the Year honors in the Will Rogers League at Widefield High School. Once returning to Lamar, he initiated the Academic Letter Award, host numerous CHSAA Music and Speech events, while the school’s baseball, wrestling and girls’ basketball teams won 10 state titles among them. He was active on the state and national scene through CASE and NASSP.
Don Kimble (Limon HS): A music teacher who established one of the finest music programs, the late Don Kimble taught music for the Badgers for 29 years after one year at Flagler.
His bands received 26 first division ratings in state large group festivals, both in performance and sight-reading. The marching band also won state recognition in 1977 for its field performances.
Kimble directed four different bands at Limon, the fourth-grade band, fifth-grade beginning band, the Cadet Band (6, 7 & 8 graders) and the Senior High School Band. He taught Music Appreciation and took his pep bands to many out-of-town athletic contests. He was also assigned three choirs to conduct.
Kimble was a master at balancing the demands for his students between athletics and his music programs.
Brian Richmond (Fort Collins): One of the state’s top gymnastics coaches and judge, Richmond coached high school for 17 years, but has been a high school judge since 1971.
He coached gymnastics at four high schools – Jefferson, Poudre, Fort Collins and Thompson Valley – with the PHS team winning the 1984 title and runners up in 1985.
A former CSU gymnast and coach, Richmond became one of the top judges in the state, as well as one the national and international scene. He judged 20 CHSAA boys’ state meets and has been a mainstay with the girls’ state meet, having worked 35 of those. He has judged on the national and international stage.
He was inducted in the National Gymnastics Judges Association Hall of Fame in 2011.
Ken Shaw (Merino, Yuma, Sterling, Rocky Mountain, Smoky Hill, Regis Jesuit HS): One of the state’s legendary athletes who become one of Colorado’s top prep basketball coaches, Shaw guided his Merino team to a pair of state tiles, while going undefeated.
He was a prolific high school athlete at Merino, and held the career scoring record when his career was over. That mark has since been broken, but Shaw’s name still dots the basketball record book as a player. Additionally, Shaw was a standout football player, and has his name in that sport’s record book.
As a coach, his teams have won more than 710 games and he guided Regis to three straight 5A championships. His teams also won titles two other times, at Yuma and Sterling.
His teams have a record 29 the state tournament appearances.
Joe Silva (Fruita Monument HS): A Bronze Star Recipient in Vietnam, Silva was a three-time state wrestling champion for Fruita Monument and compiled a 58-0-2 mark in his career.
In 12 state matches, opponents scored just 6 points on him. He also participated in football and baseball.
He is a former District 51 Teacher of the Year and taught 29 years at Fruita Middle School. During that time, he, along with 2016 inductee Ray Coca and others broadcast the Western Slope State Championship matches on radio and television.
From 1963-65, Fruita enjoyed much success in wrestling, baseball and football. The constant on these teams was Silva. The school won two wrestling team titles and the football team was state runner up twice and baseball once over the period.
Kent Smith (Boulder, Ponderosa, Aurora Central, Highlands Ranch, La Veta, Alamosa): Having just retired after 53 years of coaching, Smith is one of the state’s top coaches, regardless of sport. And, he is noted for his integrity and ability to build better people through activities.
He has been the head boys’ basketball coach at Boulder and Ponderosa, the head cross country coach at Ponderosa and Highlands Ranch, as well as the head boys’ soccer coach at Aurora Central. Additionally, he served as head girls’ basketball coach at La Veta and Alamosa.
His teams have won state titles in basketball (twice at Boulder) and cross country (six times at Highlands Ranch). He runs a dog and horse rescue ranch near Walsenburg.
GOLDEN — Evergreen girls basketball team sent a reminder to the rest of the Class 4A squads in the state Wednesday night.
The message … the Cougars are still the defending 4A state champions.
“Definitely the girls wanted to play with a purpose tonight and they did,” said Evergreen coach Amy Bahl, who guided the Cougars to the program’s first girls basketball state title last season. “They took care of business and executed well.”
Evergreen senior Baylee Galan-Browne (11) scored the final seven points for the Cougars on Wednesday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Evergreen, ranked No. 4 in the latest CHSAANow.com 4A girls basketball poll, dominated the final minutes against No. 2 ranked Golden on the Demons’ home court. The Cougars’ 9-0 run in the final three minutes lead to a 50-40 victory and a 2-game lead in the competitive 4A Jeffco League.
“I’m so excited,” Evergreen senior guard Baylee Galan-Browne said when asked how it feels to have a 2-game lead in conference play with seven league games remaining. “I can’t wait for what the rest of the season is going to bring for us.”
Galen-Browne (13 points) actually scored the final seven points for the Cougars. Her 3-pointer with 1:38 left in the fourth quarter pushed the Cougars’ lead to 46-38.
Golden (14-2, 5-2 in 4A Jeffco) held a 36-33 lead when senior Abby Garrett hit a pair of free throws with 5:45 left in the fourth quarter. However, Evergreen (14-1, 7-0) outscored the Demons 17-4 down the stretch to take the big road victory in the top-5 showdown.
“Guard play definitely stepped up tremendously tonight,” Bahl said of Galan-Browne and senior Kristina Schreiber combining to score Evergreen’s final 13 points. “I just told them to be aggressive and don’t be hesitant.”
Golden’s Makena Prey, left, attempts to drive past Evergreen’s Hayley Dillon. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Evergreen senior Meriel Hahn scored her 12 points in the first three quarters.
“It was great to see Meriel have such a great game,” Galan-Browne said. “We are going to need that because teams are going to double Claudia (Dillon).”
The Cougars’ leading scorer, 6-foot-2 junior Claudia Dillon, was scoreless in the first half, but finished with 11 points.
Golden had its 3-game winning streak snapped. Abby Garrett finished with a game-high 16 points for the Demons. Senior Makena Prey (12 points) and sophomore Elli Garrett (10 points) also finished in double-digit points.
The Demons will try to get back on track on the road against No. 10 D’Evelyn (12-4, 5-2) at 7 p.m. Friday.
Evergreen is also on the road at 7 p.m. Friday. The Cougars face Standley Lake (11-5, 3-4) as the second go-around against league opponents begins.
“It’s good, but the Jeffco League is tough,” Bahl said of the 2-game cushion. “Still, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee anything because of the tough conference we play in.”
Evergreen’s Hannah Kennedy, left, and Golden’s Abby Garnett battle for the ball. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
GOLDEN — Golden senior Adam Thistlewood started the scoring and ended the scoring Wednesday night.
The future Drake University basketball player drained a 3-pointer in the opening minute in the top-10 Class 4A boys basketball clash between the Demons and rival Evergreen Cougars at Golden High School.
“I shot before the game right after school and I was feeling good today,” Thistlewood said after the No. 4 ranked Demons took a dramatic 58-57 victory over the No. 8 Cougars. “I knew as soon as I shot that first one it was going to be a good night.”
Evergreen’s Bridger Tenney, left, and Golden’s Adam Thistlewood battle for a rebound. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Thistlewood (20 points) scored the final bucket with a go-ahead and eventual game-winning jumper with 23 second left in the fourth quarter.
Evergreen had a trio of chances at a game-winning shot in the final 10 seconds (see video above), but the ball wouldn’t fall for Evergreen. Andrew Aafedt, Jack Patterson and Bridger Tenney all had shots in the final seconds for the Cougars.
“Both teams just slugged it out offensively in the fourth quarter,” Golden coach Erik Buehler said. “Maybe the basketball gods were a little on our side in the end. It was a great fight.”
It was a 3-point game or closer throughout the tight final quarter. Evergreen took a 57-56 lead on a 3-pointer by Aafedt with 37 seconds left. Golden answered with Thistlewood draining a long jumper just inside the 3-point line.
“It was a great high school basketball game, no doubt about it,” Evergreen coach Scott Haebe admitted despite his team coming up on the short end. “In the fourth quarter you had both teams making plays, both teams coming down and hitting shots. It was a fun game.”
Evergreen seniors Chase Rogers (19 points), Patterson (15 points) and Tenney (11 points) led the comeback attempt in the second half. The Cougars (12-4, 5-2 in 4A Jeffco) trailed 29-19 at halftime, but got right back in the game with a 10-0 run to eventually take a lead early in the fourth quarter.
Evergreen’s Bridger Tenney (10) takes a shot over Golden’s Jack Moore. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“We gave ourselves a chance to win against a very good team on their home court,” Haebe said after tough back-to-back conference losses. “Last week we had a chance against Valor too.”
Golden senior Jack McLaughlin was key in keeping the Demons (13-3, 6-1) within striking distance of conference-leading Valor Christian (10-6, 7-0). McLaughlin hit a pair of 3-pointers. He also had a couple of drives to the basket where he was fouled and finished the 3-point play the hard way.
“They kept doubling Joe (Madsen) and he found me. It was awesome,” McLaughlin said after tying his single-game scoring effort this season with 14 points. “Our passing was very good tonight.”
Senior Joe Madsen finished with a dozen points, but it was Thistlewood again that started and finished the deal for the Demons.
“This was probably one of the bigger wins of the season so far,” Thistlewood said of the importance to keep just 1-game behind league-leading Valor in the 4A Jeffco standings. “We definitely needed to win this one to stay in contention.”
It’s clear the Demons are focused on the court heading into the second half of the conference schedule.
“We are starting to get in a groove and re-gelling again,” Buehler said. “We are getting ready for the final push. We have to take care of business every single night.”
Golden senior Joe Madsen, middle, gets defensive pressure by Evergreen’s Andrew Aafedt (22) and Brett Bokelman. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
We saw our No. 1 4A squad take their first loss in week 7 but they remained the top squad in our poll. We didn’t expect a fall after a loss for the Rangers to a solid 5A squad.
Speaking of 5A, no change there as Rock Canyon just continues to roll as the states undisputed (and undefeated) No. 1.
The place to be, Ball Fever Top Pick, was the 4A top 5 battle between Pueblo South and Pueblo West. Dan Mohrmann has the story on Pueblo South flexing its defensive muscle!
The “defensive theme” continues with No. 1 Rock Canyon holding 8 points and 2 points in quarters…add Sam Masten’s 27 with back court mate Tyson Gilbert’s 17 you get a 30+ point win over Heritage.
Erik Grossaint and C Warner joined Trent Dykema in double figure scoring in No. 7 Silver Creek’s win over Centaurus.
At 14-1, ThunderRidge is No. 2 in our 5A poll and looked that way in a blow out win 88-55 over Castle View.
Thompson Valley dropped from the 4A top 10 but Longmont is holding steady at No. 5 and a 25-point win with Luke Johnson’s 19 points made a statement!
Another double-double sighting for Doherty’s Joe Golden with an 18 point, 12 rebound effort in the No. 9 Spartans tough win over Fountain-Fort Carson.
How about 16 players in the scoring column for No. 5 Denver East in the romp over Kennedy. Everyone got some action!
Top 10 5A match! Chaparral left no doubt in the 66-39 win over Highlands Ranch. Ronnie DeGray III with 25 points in short minutes on the night.
Wednesday, Jan. 24
Tristan Pratt dropped 27 points with 5 rebounds in Vista Ridge’s win over Sand Creek by 20.
Vista Peak with another solid win over Brighton to follow up their upset of Silver Creek last week!
Our Fever Crew is keeping an eye on this ever improving Valor squad, not at No. 6 4A, who again impressed beating Standley Lake by 19 after a first quarter advantage of 21-8.
Smoky Hill is eager to prove their fall from the 5A top 10 is only temporary and they took a big step in that direction with a 62-44 win over Cherry Creek rival who was on a bit of a hot streak.
Upset Alert!! The scoring duo of Matt Ragsdale and Joel Scott were held to a low 13 points combined and No. 1 fell to Palmer Ridge’s stout defense. Palmer Ridge held the Rangers to 4 second quarter points which was the key in the 9-point win.
“Put it on REPEAT!”. We’ll say it again: this Overland squad has been battle tested with a tough schedule and they had no mercy beating Arapahoe 88-46. The Blazers are up to No. 6 in our poll.
Hot squads!?? Look no further than No. 3 George Washington who was supposed to be tested by Lincoln on this night but instead they tested the score keeper as they ran up 95 points in the 25-point win. Jon’il Fuggett leads Patriots in points, steals, and assists!
Grandview slid a bit to No. 7 in 5A but came out strong beating Mullen in league play 69-54.
Top 10 4A action and Adam Thistlewood showed up big for Golden in the tight 1-point win over Evergreen. Thistlewood scored 20 points and added 7 rebounds.
Falcon is at the door of the top 10 and Reece Warren’s 15 point, 7 rebound effort helped them to their second solid win of the week by 1-point over Discovery Canyon.
Eaglecrest, at the door of the 5A top 10, lost a tough one to East on Monday but bounced back nicely in league play with 20-point win over Cherokee Trail.
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Mid-Week Thoughts
Lewis-Palmer has a couple of recent losses and Pueblo South’s ultra impressive win over Pueblo West has the LP/P South rematch looking good (maybe at the Coliseum, again?).
Golden continues to look good and Longmont closes out the Fever top 4 this week.
In 5A, Rock Canyon is still “the man” until someone can give them a loss. The Jags are the cream right now but literally any of the squads ranked 2-7 could challenge them on a given night.
But! Challenge doesn’t mean “beat” and we’ll see if RC can remain unbeaten.
